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At the end of each fiscal year, the USPTO releases a Performance and Accountability Report, with statistics about patent and trademark allowance rates, average pendency, and other details. The USPTO recently released its Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2017. This means that it’s time for IP Spotlight’s annual review of the question: “how long does it take to receive a patent or register a trademark?”

To answer that question, here are a few highlights from the USPTO’s FY 2017 report:

Patents: The USPTO continued a six-year trend of reducing overall patent application pendency in FY 2017. The average time between filing and first office action was 16.3 months, which is about the same as last year. However, average total pendency decreased to 24.2 months (down from last year’s 24.2-month average pendency, and down from a high of 33.7 months in 2012).

The report did not discuss the effect of the USPTO’s “Track 1” expedited examination option on the overall timeline. Applicants who pay the additional fee for Track 1 processing typically receive a first action within 4-6 months of filing, and allowance or final action within 12 months of filing.

The wait times vary depending on the technology involved. Patent applications for computer architecture and mechanical engineering inventions generally experienced the longest waits, while applications in the biotech and organic chemistry fields moved relatively quickly. The breakdown by technology included: Continue reading →

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About IP Spotlight

IP Spotlight provides news and practice tips relating to the legal and business aspects of intellectual property and other intangible assets. Topics include licensing, due diligence, acquisition, compliance and risk management associated with patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. IP Spotlight is published by Jim Singer of Fox Rothschild LLP.

About the Author

Jim Singer is a partner with the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP, where he focuses on intellectual property acquisition, protection, enforcement and licensing. For more details and contact information, select the "About the Author" link below.

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